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Cheryl Murray

Federer won’t have the Cahill magic after all

2009-03-12 09:10:42
Well….that didn't last long. Rumors have been circulating for more than a week about the possible teaming of Roger Federer and Darren Cahill. It would have been a match made in tennis heaven. Just think of it – two of the sport's most famous gentlemen together at last. Of course they might have spent half their day at the hotel elevator…"After you..." "No, no. After YOU." "No, REALLY..." and so on. Alas, it is not to be.

After working with Federer on a trial basis, Cahill determined that coaching would simply be too disruptive to his family. And that's understandable, right? Cahill lives in Vegas, Federer in Switzerland. Cahill would be forced to spend about half his time away from his family globe-trotting with the ATP tour. I can see why he changed his mind. Really. Seriously.

I mean, obviously Cahill is new to the whole "coaching a world-famous player" thing. He clearly had no idea of the demands and pressures of life in the ATP. It isn't like he's coached two other world number one players or anything. It's not like he was a player himself... THAT'S why he was suddenly so shocked and awed at what was expected of him. REALLY. SERIOUSLY! Nothing fishy going on there...

I'm just kidding. Please don't send me hate mail – or if you do, at least make it creative. "You really suck" lacks flair. Thanks in advance. Honestly, I have no idea why the Cahill thing fell through. Maybe it is for exactly the reason they said. But if it is? Cahill has some SERIOUS issues with his memory – that's all I'm sayin'. However, that's neither here nor there.

The real issue is that Federer remains coach-less. To be honest, I don't know if that's a bad thing or not. Remember Jose Higueras? Federer hired him last year to "help" with the clay season. He got the title in Estoril for his efforts. Estoril. Later that season – and notably without Higueras – he netted the US Open. Maybe he really just doesn't need a coach???

One thing is for sure – the whole Cahill thing didn't do Federer any favors. After our last tear-stained and devastated images of the Swiss star, he could have used some good publicity. Cahill saying "Nah. I guess I'd rather not" stinks all the way around. And just for that, I hope Roger comes out playing brilliantly this week.

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Comments

"And just for that, I hope Roger comes out playing brilliantly this week" ...you saved youself a lot of hate mail by just writing that :P

fedexfan, 3/12/09 3:11 PM

He(Roger) is a magician of this game himself !!!!!!!!!!! So it will not affect him after all !!!!!!!!!!! go roger go !!!!!!!!!!! IW is waiting !!!!!!!!!!!

tomnjerry2, 3/12/09 3:57 PM

Of course they might have spent half their day at the hotel elevator?"After you..." "No, no. After YOU." "No, REALLY..." and so on.

Hilarious!!! I loved it. Well, maybe Cahill did want to give it a go and see how it all went. Or maybe he didn't want his reputation tarnished afterall...

remi, 3/12/09 3:59 PM

fedexfan - you are exactly right

Cheryl - you don't believe a single word you wrote in that entire final sentence and you know it!!!

RickyDimon, 3/12/09 4:03 PM

Just to make it clear..it was Cahill who approached Federer this time and not the other way round.He called up Tony Godsick and said 'lets talk about this' so Federer sent him the invitation.Surprisingly though according to Tony Godsick,this time Federer wants someone for 20 + weeks.I guess that proved too much for Cahill.Any way Cahill himself has added his name to the long list of tennis insiders who say Roger's very classy.LOL.So there's no personality issue there.For that matter even Higueras had to say the same thing when he decided to part.

Loved your elevator joke by the way.And its just for that ,that you'll get no hate mails from me.ROFL.
Anyway,Cahill said they worked quite well during those training sessions.Esp the last 4 days since initially Roger was also working with Pierre on his back.
Now as to whether your last sentence was heartfelt..lol...it dosent matter to me.It was nice to read since made me chuckle. :)

janhavi, 3/12/09 4:57 PM

thanks cheryl
i was waiting for you to talk about this
one thing bothers me from the 2007 season , or let's say last year.
whats up with cahil? why doesn't he wants to coach federer?
he was trying to have him till 2004 I thonk , but he refused and continoued to do .
does he feel that coaching federer would be of so much trouble for him? does he thinks"ok he is the Idol and every body loves him ,genius and everything so I can't be with that all pressure"
or may be, yes , because of his family.
I really wanted him to coach roger but that didn't happen,
may be would give him an inspiration or something, as agassi did to verdasco ,I hope so.

Noody, 3/12/09 4:59 PM

"Cheryl - you don't believe a single word you wrote in that entire final sentence and you know it!!!"

That applies for some of ur articles too, otherwise something more serious is the reason.

posmatrac, 3/12/09 5:02 PM

Cahill also explained that when he was with Lleyton he had just got married so it was possible to travel.When he was with Agassi his kids were too small and Agassi also had kids so he could take them along sometimes.With Roger that sort of changes.The only kid who's seen with Roger sometimes is Tony Godsick and Mary Jo Fernandez's daughter Isabella( I hope I got her name right.LOL)

janhavi, 3/12/09 5:08 PM

janhavi, who are you and cahill trying to convince? yourselves or others!

memi, 3/12/09 6:39 PM

I still stand by the possibility Cahill only intended short term. He offered, and Fed agreed. 9 days is NINE DAYS!!! LOL The rest is all bad choice of words by Tony Godsick to the press, and a little wishful thinking on his part. We all know what the power of the spoken or written work can do. Sorting out what is true, from false is a messy business at best (and not always possible). LOL BTW Cheryl. Can't say I cared for your article much. That last sentence does stand out! You should consider giving us Fed fans more of the same... We due like to soak up positive Fed vibes! (don't you know?!) LOL Cheers, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to have fun on this site.

sky, 3/12/09 6:40 PM

If there is something deeper going on it probably isn't to do with Federer. I mean they have known each other for years, Cahill asked the Fed, and I don't think you can find out that you hate each other all of sudden in 9 days. Maybe it is Cahill's personal life interferring, sure he knew what it was like, but perhaps his children and wife forgot. Maybe his wife got the wooden spoon out and yelled at him from down the phone. It could of been one massive guilt trip. Hopefully they will still be in touch. Fed does kinda rock without a coach, and he still has a team. It's not like hes totally solo.

kaitepai, 3/12/09 7:26 PM

memi-I'm just posting what Cahill said,geddit? why should I try to convince someone?.I just put Cahill's words here .Dont believe them if you dont want to.

janhavi, 3/12/09 7:28 PM

I'm hurt that you don't think my Federer well-wishes were sincere. :(

LOL. I actually was telling the truth. I think it would be nice for Federer come out playing well. The last thing he needs is for another Canas-type result.

sky - It's my pleasure. :D

cherylmurray, 3/12/09 8:17 PM

kaitepai, how did i know you would say that? bottom line is, cahill's reason for the announcement doesn't matter with me one way or other, whether federer gets a coach or not, whether it's cahill, gilbert, mcenroe, whomever, or whether he goes solo doesn't matter, he still has to play the same players, on the same surfaces, and whatever will be, will be! end of story!

memi, 3/12/09 8:34 PM

Everyone says there might be other reasons why the deal didnt go through, so the blog says nothing new at all. Why do you think Cahill rejected cheryl?

orion, 3/12/09 9:57 PM

Lol I don't know why Cahill rejected Cheryl, but she seems to be taking it up well.

samprallica, 3/12/09 10:02 PM

Not so much, she did suggest cahill has serious memory issues so I guess she might be hurt :p I meant what she thinks could be the reason cahill rejected federer, didnt mean to get involved in personal relationships :x

orion, 3/12/09 10:30 PM

HAHAHAHA. Cahill did NOT reject me. :)

Orion, I have NO IDEA why he would do so. Public statements often have very little to do with the truth, though. It could have been that Roger didn't like him, could be that he didn't like roger.

I think it more likely that Cahill thought for whatever reason that he could not be of assistance to Roger - and that makes at least some sense. Roger's game is complete. It's not as though Cahill could say "Rog, let's work on your serve" or "I think that forehand could use some sprucing up". So my best guess is that Cahill didn't want to waste his time or Federer's if he had nothing of use to add.

cherylmurray, 3/12/09 10:48 PM

The talk is not gonna be about Cahill's fam. Fed is starting soon. Congrats Rog!

samprallica, 3/12/09 10:52 PM

i know right... exciting!

kaitepai, 3/12/09 11:37 PM

wow. Congratulations Roger and Mirka. :)

cherylmurray, 3/13/09 12:29 AM

So sick of Fed and all the damn drama! Too bad we'll never know the truth.

Holly, 3/13/09 12:31 AM

I wonder if Cahill asked for the rest of THE TEAM to vanished to avoid distractions and Fed didn't want that. Or maybe the high life of the Dubai scene didn't tickle Cahill's fancy compared to Vegas. Like Holly said, too bad we'll never know the truth.

jean, 3/13/09 3:36 AM

posmatrac - wrong

yep, so much for Cahill-Federer being today's news. It's baby news for the next few months.

RickyDimon, 3/13/09 5:23 AM

cheryl- right on the dot!
Anyone who has the capacity to use their brain will not JUST believe the reasons of Cahill on why he declined the job.

agf25agf, 3/13/09 6:20 AM

Hahaha, you sound so sincere Cheryl when you say hoping the best for Roger at IW :p almost as sincere as me claiming I wish Rafito wins the calendar slam :) :hug: :p

Antonius, 3/13/09 12:34 PM

I cheryl wished otherwise , what would you say?
You're so unbelievable, Roger fans... PARANOIA is in your blood!

agf25agf, 3/13/09 3:52 PM

Cheryl,
You mirrored my raised eyebrows.

Higueras' assignment had a narrow focus: improve Roger's chances against Rafa on clay, but the gap between them at each final they played on the surface was larger than in '07, and I doubt Roger expect to win anytime he meets Nadal on clay this year, unless he's lucky and Nadal is sheer out of gas.

As for all-around coaching and confidance building, Roger really needs a coach and really does not need a coach.

chlorostoma, 3/13/09 4:06 PM

antonius, you complain when I don't say enough nice things about Roger. Now you're complaining that I've complimented him? You, my dear, are a raving lunatic. :hug: Now be a good boy and run along now.

cherylmurray, 3/13/09 10:08 PM

It would'nt have mattered if roger got Cahill or not nobody can help him beat Rafa, he's just not good enough.

Federer may as well retire, stay home and babysit the new baby.

sheila, 3/13/09 10:13 PM

sheila, with words like that, you're going to wake up federer's fans from their dream world!

memi, 3/13/09 10:28 PM

Cheryl, the reason for Cahill's refusal is clear now: it's because of the b-a-b-y. Fed must have told him about it in Dubai. Darren probably thought he'd get stuck lugging the Pampers or maybe he was afraid the baby would spit up on his designer shirts. And this also explains some other things: Fed's lower "back pain" and inexplicable crying - sympathetic pain/symptoms for Mirka - that has to be it. Thank God we've got all that cleared up. Now we can move on to tennis.

tenisbebe, 3/14/09 12:58 AM

tenisbebe, thanks for clearing that up in a humorous way! i'm not sure that we will be able to move on from baby to tennis. don't you know "the baby" is the new topic on the horizon and from now on that will be a part of everything federer does. if he wins, it will be said that "the baby has made him more relaxed and happy on court, if he loses, it will be said that the baby has affected his focus." so, the way i see, there's no way around it, the baby topic is here to stay!

memi, 3/14/09 4:41 AM

Well at least baby talk makes a change from: tears, funk, backhand, end of career etc etc!

deuce, 3/14/09 8:28 AM

Cheryl, the articles that I've read about cahill/fed are quite simply that he couldn't leave his kids, when the cards were on the table and that when he was coaching Agassi/Hewitt, they both didn't have kids at that time, and so the situation that was presented to him with Fed was a first. The travel was just too much in terms of not being in Las Vegas to do the 'school run'. i don't think it is anymore than that, but like most people are saying.....we will never really know...can only speculate. Plus in terms of them not liking each other. Don't believe that for a minute. His previous coach, Carter was best man at Cahill's wedding and so they have known each other for almost 15 years and......allegedly......the respect and likeability factor is reciprocated. I think they will have both benefited from the short training session of 9 days. I still feel that if it is not going to be a coach for Fed, then just someone to untangle those negative thoughts that creep in, in the latter stages of a match against Nadal would work wonders. A sports psychologist more than a coach....(both would be bliss, but then surely, he knows best? Also a step in the right direction for him acknowledging that he does need a bit of help.....especially when the fed haters were saying that he was just 'too arrogant' to recognise this? Will be good to see him play at Indi today....can't wait.

malteser1, 3/14/09 9:15 AM

wwtaching him play at mo is horrible... very very rusting. but the volleying is really nice. its the only thing thats working. serve ok i guess.

kaitepai, 3/15/09 1:33 AM

and by rusting i mean rusty. hes not actually rusting.

kaitepai, 3/15/09 1:36 AM

There are alot of very good coaches out there, take your pick Roger!

fofe, 3/15/09 11:57 AM

Roger needs three coaches:

One for clay against Nadal
One for hard court against Nadal
One for grass against Nadal

livingdoll, 3/19/09 1:20 PM

livingdoll

:-)

remi, 3/19/09 4:11 PM

Federer has coaches coming out of his ears.....Rusedski, Stick, Sampras, McEnroe, Wilander etc etc etc. What more does he want?

livingdoll, 3/19/09 4:51 PM

livingdoll- I like you... keep on going!

agf25agf, 3/20/09 1:00 AM

Federer has coaches coming out of his ears.....Rusedski, Stick, Sampras, McEnroe, Wilander etc etc etc. What more does he want?

He wants players to hand him wins on a silver platter so he can play pretty tennis. He's not naturally a hard worker.

jean, 3/20/09 2:00 AM

A guy who was #1 for 4,5 years is not hard working? Thats a first...

orion, 3/20/09 3:19 AM

don't be so presumptious. the competition then was not as strong as it is now. do you see him aiming to improve b working hard and on his weaknesses. He said so himself he's not going work on his weaknesses. and if you followed him when he turned pro - what he said back then - you'll understand where I'm coming from. I'm not saying he's completely lazy, but he's not as industrious as people like Murray or Nadal. Why does he give excuses when he loses? Isn't the answer to work hard and improve???

jean, 3/20/09 3:47 AM

what excuses????? and have you taken into account the guy is 27 and the players you're talking about are 21 to 22? and you havent seen improvements in his game..it dosent mean he hasnt improved.
He cant just hire anyone as a coach at this stage.He needs the right person and he needs someone who's willing to do all the travelling..
the fact that fans mention Sampras and Mcenroe as possible coaches itself shows their ignorance.Anyway i wont go there
But know what you're talking about, please.Stop measuring everything by Rafa's standards.He's neither a standard measure for humility nor tennis ( this isnt a shot at him.)

janhavi, 3/20/09 9:39 AM

I'm not measuring everything by nadal's standard. I know their ages, did you see I mentioned also about THE TIME when he turned pro?? Was he 27 then? I'd elaborate futher if I thought you had any grey matter. Everyone is bias and much as you hate to admit, so are you. What excuses??? There are several from over the years - take your pick!

jean, 3/20/09 10:53 AM

you have certainly not been following Roger from when he turned pro as he's improved by leaps and bounds since then.Also,since I've read many interviews of his I have no reason buy this BS.And yes,.I have preference or bias whatever you choose to call it. Anyway,what I have is clearly nothing close to what you're projecting and I'm happily proud of that.
Excuses from several years? really....maybe you should go and show him how its done then since you know so much .I'd bet you'd be a lot worse in his place.Hell you'd be a disaster. Constant flamewars,constant comparison to Nadal like he's some archangel( which he's not..),repeated display of double standards and you show the audacity to say I do not have grey matter.LOL.

janhavi, 3/20/09 11:16 AM

proud of yourself?

jean, 3/20/09 11:49 AM

lol..ok..that was too much..sorry... :) no offence.The whole point of the entire discussion is Roger has improved.Maybe he didnt have to work like Nadal.But that was because his game wasnt tailored that way not because he isnt willing to or he isnt industrious.For him,the struggle was more to keep his emotions under control , for Nadal the struggle was to adapt to other surfaces

janhavi, 3/20/09 12:02 PM

Don't worry about it. Anyway, the point I was trying to make (initially) was that I don't see an improvement to the extent we are seeing with Roddick, Verdasco, Murray or Nadal (perhaps Verdasco needs to prove consistency, still early days). I'm not saying he has to improve like nadal, how can that be, they are 2 different people. Of course the other argument is that these players had more room to improve but what I'm trying to say is that surely there's room for Fed to improve if he's not beating these guys. Of course there's also the mental issue against Nadal which I don't think he's doing very well lately. No doubt that can change. I'm just saying it's such a waste that he's such a good player but can't seem to beat Murray or Nadal (although Murray not so on the big stage). I'm not saying I'm disappointed Nadal is winning but I'm just trying to make a point. I'm just naming these 2 because it would sound ridiculous for me the raise the fact that Hrbarty has a better H2H with him as well but seriously!!! Hrbaty?? Of course some say it's all mental, he has the game ot beat nadal. Of course he has. This is just my opinion. Those who follow him closely can disagree. I'm just making a point, not out to offend you.

I know he's improved since turning pro, that was beside the point. But I mean since around mid last year, since you are a fan, has he improved any aspect of his game? Maybe I've missed it since I obviously follow Nadal and other plyers more closely.

jean, 3/20/09 1:15 PM

Federer could always hire UNCLE TONI. He could teach him to play left-handed and beat Nadal especially on clay.

livingdoll, 3/21/09 9:39 AM

RLOL!

agf25agf, 3/21/09 11:25 AM

oops jean..didnt see your reply...good point though
quick answer-yes he has-The serve is more a weapon now than it was before,his net approaches have increased and in the AO final even his backhand was coping better than it had in a long time.Of course, rubbish serving day for him.
main problem with him now-he's half a step slower.I'm not an expert , but Roger has had an excellent transition game which has been affected .
Rafa's significant improvements-(only my observation)Serve-Better placement,looks to end points faster,More agressive .

janhavi, 3/21/09 1:02 PM

Thanks yes much more familiar with Nadal's improvement needless to say, yes his serve placement is one but he's worked on a number of things in his game to adapt to hard surface, and still working on it. I guess I was more wondering about Roger's backhand in terms of returning serve (I should have been more specific). Nadal served mostly to his backhand at Wimb and AO so was curious about that. A lot of talk about Nadal being in his head which could be a factor. I saw someone asked about whether Higueras is coaching him for clay any word on that? Murray hiring Corretja again I read. They are getting ready for after Miami.